


Superstitions

by GhostlyWitchAvenger



Series: Stellar Abyss [4]
Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Kirk is a good bro, M/M, Reconciliation, Relationship Problems, cute little squid alien baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 14:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12509852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostlyWitchAvenger/pseuds/GhostlyWitchAvenger
Summary: When strange noises are heard aboard an exploration vessel, the crew soon start coming to conclusions of their own. Meanwhile, Bones is set on resolving the conflict his words caused, but Set isn't interested.





	Superstitions

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after Act II of Race to the End and before Act III

_ Captain's log, stardate 4966.1. Merely hours after leaving planetary orbit around Paldophus, strange noises have been heard in the vents of the ship. The mysterious sounds have set my crew on edge and have led them to come to ridiculous conclusions based off of superstitions. We must get to the bottom of this immediately before this problem escalates. _

“What’re you doin’ up?”

Set nearly shrieked from where he stood in front of the porthole, flinching in fright by the sudden break in silence. Leonard pushed himself up on his elbows, the bedsprings creaking under his shift in weight as he became more alert.

“Was it another nightmare?”

He fought to keep his voice steady despite the racing of his heart. His words lacked its normal warmth, though, his lips screwing when a bitter feeling flashed through him. The two of them weren’t on the best of terms at the moment, and while McCoy was trying to resolve this rift between them, the Betazoid wanted to remain mad at him, just for a little longer, “No, Len. Go back to sleep.”

“Hard to when you’re awake. I’ve gotten used to you bein’ right beside me,” But dammit, when he said things like that it made it hard to stay angry, “Come on, I'm sure you're feelin’ a big airish in nothin’ but those shorts.”

The doctor wasn't wrong. Goosebumps were lined along his freckles arms and, to be honest, his nipples could've been certifiable weapons. It took a lot of energy for him to keep his shivers to the muscles of his legs, so he reluctantly slipped back under the covers and allowed himself to be pulled back into Leonard’s embrace.

His discomfort didn't go unnoticed.

“Please, talk to me,” Leonard mumbled into his shoulder.

Set clenched his jaw.

“There's nothing to talk about,” Now, he was tense for an entirely different reason other than the cold, which was slowly fading away and being replaced by a comforting heat.

“Sure there is.”

“Fine, I'll reword. There's nothing  _ I  _ want to talk about.”

A disappointed sigh, “Darlin’...”

“Don't ‘darlin’ me, Leonard McCoy. I'm mad at you.  _ Very  _ mad.”

There was a heavy silence following that proclamation before Leonard decided to speak, “...Okay, I can honestly understand that. But, can you at least tell me why you're awake at this ungodly hour? If it's not from a nightmare?”

Set seriously considered giving him the silent treatment, but the answer to the doctor's question made itself known, forcing an involuntary flinch from his person.

“ _ That's _ the reason why.”

For the past two days, the ship had been plagued by strange and eerie sounds in the vents. Scotty had tried - and failed - to figure out the reason why, so the problem had yet to be fixed.

No one had been spared the mysterious noises, and - just like the crew - the reactions were diverse. The most notable of them all, though, were the speculations supernatural in nature.

They all made him scoff on the inside.

McCoy huffed a laugh, “Well, there's nothin’ I can do to help you with that.”

Set could feel the moment the mirth left Leonard’s body when he said, “I don't want your help,” It was cruel and unnecessary, he knew that. But he wasn't going to apologise for it, at least, not at the moment.

Another sigh, this time in resignation, “For what it's worth, I'm sorry,” Guilt swirled in his gut at the doctor’s tone, “G’night, Set. ”

“...Goodnight, Len.”

McCoy had been hoping the awkwardness between the two of them would have faded when morning came, but he was proven wrong when Set refused to respond to his farewell. He simply pulled the blanket tighter around him, glaring at the wall and ignoring the light kiss pressed against his temple, not saying a single word.

This behaviour had been going on for nearly a week since their fight, following immediately after the Omnis had made themselves known. Leonard knew he’d said some hurtful things to him, things he had regretted saying as soon as they had left his lips, but he didn’t know how to go about fixing this.

The fact that Set didn’t even question his leaving their quarters - despite him knowing he had the day off - almost escaped his notice. It was proof enough that the Betazoid wasn’t interested in reconciliation so soon.

“Good morning, Bones,” Jim gave him a wide smile, cradling a mug of coffee in his hands. The other senior crew were seated at the long conference table, each with an equally pleasant expression on their faces.

It contrasted with his own mood. Something his best friend seemed to pick up on.

“Trouble in paradise?” Even though his tone was light, his face was not.

“You can say that,” He mumbled, settling himself into a nearby seat, “So what’re we goin’ to do about these… noises?” That seemed to shake Kirk out of his sudden seriousness, clearing his throat and placing his mug on the table.

“Ah, yes. That,” Was his eloquent response, “Scotty, did you or any of your people find anything in Engineering?”

“No, I'm afraid nae, cap’n. No matter how many times we ran the diagnostics, nothin’ came back out o’ the ordinary.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Sulu spoke up, leaning against the table, a widening grin on his lips, “Maybe it’s a  _ ghost _ .”

“Oh,  _ please _ , Mr. Sulu,” Uhura groaned, rolling her eyes as she crossed a leg over the other. Her nails clacked against the table and Leonard muscles tensed like a coil each time. Chekov didn’t react well to the pilot’s statement, muttering under his breath in Russian, “Spare us the dramatics. I already have to listen to the others on this ship telling me to line my vents with  _ salt _ , of all things.”

“Perhaps, Mr. Sulu has a point,” Kirk barked a disbelieving laugh at Spock’s words, “Please, captain. While he may have been a bit… superstitious in his statement, it is not entirely out of the realm of possibility for the source of the sounds to be sentient.”

“I suppose there’s no reason to rule that out,” Jim rubbed at his chin for a bit, before turning to McCoy, “Bones, do you think you can program the ship’s sensors to seek out any non-human life signs? A good majority of our crew  _ are _ human, so it should be easy to weed out the bio-signals that are ‘alien’, but part of our crew.”

“But ve could just narrow zhe scope of zhe scanner to focus on zhe wents, sir,” Chekov suggested.

“While significantly easier, that would not work,” Spock said, “There are too many life signs on this ship, which could easily overwhelm the computer and interfere with the results.”

“Jim, I’m a doctor not a software engineer. I’m not the person to ask. Perhaps it’d be better if you’d ask the hobgoblin over here to do that for you.”

“I know that, that’s why I want you to work  _ with _ Spock on this. You give him the necessary information, and he does what he needs to.  _ And, _ if you happen to find this creature, I would suggest flushing it out of the vents. Make it a little uncomfortable for it to stay in there, and it will be forced to find a way out,” Kirk paused, before nodding to himself, “Close the vents off one by one until there’s only one exit. We’ll meet there and capture it.”

McCoy grumbled a bit at that, but nodded his agreement. It was a smart solution, and would probably find the source of their problem sooner rather than later. If the thing was sentient, at the very least.

As the others stood to leave, he briefly considered stopping by his quarters. Programming the sensors and following through with their plan could take a while; possibly the entirety of Alpha shift.

No. Set wanted -  _ needed _ \- space. He’d be damned if he didn’t give it to him.

“Bones?” Jim touched his arm gently to get his attention, a concerned look in his eyes as he sat next to him, “How are things… between you and Set?” A quick glance around the room told him he had the privacy to speak freely as everyone else had left, and he sighed, shoulders dropping.

“No good, if I’ll be honest,” A hesitant glance sent his captain’s way and Jim gestured for him to continue. He should’ve known. The man was a friend to the both of them, and he was always interested in their welfares. He never hesitated to lend an ear and a few words of advice either. McCoy appreciated it, “I’ll admit that I haven’t done  _ all _ that I can to remedy this. I don’t want to push, though. I don’t blame him, but Set’s unwillin’ to reconcile at the moment, and has been keepin’ me at arm's length for the past week. He doesn’t want to talk about it at all, as a matter of fact.”

“I can’t say you didn’t hurt him. When I saw him the day you two fought, he was still fighting back tears. I’ve never seen him like that in the couple of years I’ve known him,” Leonard felt the burn of shame across his neck, knowing his words - spoken in the heat of the moment - had caused that, “ _ But _ , I think he knows you didn’t really mean what you said. He has said as much to me, after all. I could speak to him, if you’d like.”

“No, Jim. Thank you, but… I’m afraid I really hurt him this time.”

Jim pursed his lips at that, looking deep in thought as his brows furrowed, “Then the best thing I think you can do is give him the space he wants. I imagine it can’t be easy for him to sort out his feelings about the whole situation when he’d around you so often. In fact, today is a good day, as he has his shift off. He might be in a better mood by the end of the day, if your demeanour when you walked in was any indication.”

And of course, Jim always knew what was the best course of action.

He sighed, “I only hope so. Thanks, Jim.”

His captain clapped him on the shoulder, a wide grin on his lips, “I’m your  _ friend _ , Bones, it’s what friends do. Besides, you’re always there for me when I need your help.”

“Just accept my gratitude for what it is!”

“Don’t you have a sensor to programme?”

“And don’t you have captain-ly duties to do?”

“Really, Bones? ‘Captain-ly duties’?”

* * *

 

Set hadn’t moved far even a couple of hours after Leonard had left, simply opting to push himself up and pull his PADD onto his lap. Reviewing his reports and data from the previous day helped keep his mind preoccupied.

That didn’t stop him from choking back his frustrated tears though.

While he was grateful to have this time to himself, not having to feel the  _ guiltregretsadness _ coming from McCoy, he didn’t have much to distract him when his thoughts started spiralling. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but he was not in the mood to bawl his eyes out until he was emotionally exhausted. Though, to be fair, trying to hold back the tears was just as - if not more - exhausting.

Throwing his PADD onto the bed with a frustrated growl, he pressed his palms against his eyes, breath shaky as he tried to get his feelings under control, “Get yourself together. Don’t cry, don’t cry…”

_ For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. _

Dammit.

Shoulders hitching with his silent cries, he stood shakily to his feet, intent on stumbling into their bathroom to splash cold water on his face.

This just wasn’t fair! He wanted to be mad at Leonard, he really did. His  _ amah _ had mentioned, on occasion, his inability stay mad at someone. He had questioned why she felt it was such a bad thing, and she had said, “Anger is healthy. Yes, it can be destructive if you do not control it. But it plays an important part in healing. Without it, we do not learn. I know it hurts sometimes, but without it, we would not know where our boundaries lie. Nor would we know what we are willing and not willing to put up with.”

_ Now  _ I  _ can't trust you, because lord knows what else you've hidden from me. _

He had been so  _ angry _ when Leonard said that. Yes, he knew that emotions were running high, and the both of them were confused after their frustratingly unhelpful conversation with the Omnis.

But that didn’t mean the words didn’t hurt like a bitch.

_ In case you've forgotten, we're in a relationship. _

How could Set forget? He treasured what they had above all else, so for him to insinuate that he didn’t care stung. Sniffing wetly, he turned the faucet off and placed his hands on the counter, as if bracing himself against his thoughts.

Maybe he was at fault for all of this. If he had just confided in Leonard, completely, there would be no cause for their distance and anger. That argument wouldn’t have come to pass. For all he tried to tell himself he did it to protect his  _ imzadi _ , that he did it to keep what they had untainted, he had the sneaking suspicion the true reason was more selfish in nature.

He had kept important information to himself because he didn’t want to face the possibility that he was… sick. 

Thankfully, it had turned out he was perfectly fine, physically and mentally. But it didn’t change the fact he had made the decision to keep to himself with such an important matter.

Leonard had apologised. More than once. Perhaps it was his turn to do the same.

A knocking made itself known in the vents, and he flinched at the sound.

These noises did nothing for his peace of mind - or lack thereof. Okay, he’ll admit it. For all Set touted facts and internally scoffed at other people’s harebrained superstitions, whatever was causing the vents to make those hellish sounds made him all sorts of uneasy. He knew there was nothing wrong with the ventilation system or the vents themselves. Scotty was Starfleet’s finest Engineer, so if the Scotsman said nothing was wrong, nothing was  _ wrong _ .

He knew that whatever it was, it was probably sentient. He’d felt the briefest of touches against his mind every now and then, followed immediately by strange sounds that ranges from knocking and an eerie cooing.

If it wasn’t so mysterious and creepy, he’d probably think it cute.

Sighing, he crept silently out of the bathroom, kneeling in front of the only vent in the room. He scrunched his nose a bit at the faint fishy smell emanating from it, and removing the cover revealed a bunch of icky clear slime, “Gross,” He muttered.

Leaning closer to the floor, he strained to look towards the back of the vent, where it split into two paths. Nothing was present besides the slime.

When the intercom speaker crackled, something squeaked before rushing across his vision, startling him so badly he flew backwards with a yelp, kicking the vent cover back into place.

Okay, so it was definitely sentient and alive.

“Attention crew, this is your captain speaking. I understand that the situation with the vents has left many of you on edge, so I promise you it will be resolved soon. Working under the theory it’s a creature small, or flexible, enough to fit in the ventilation system, we’re looking to flush it out. Please stay away from all vents, and the air might feel a little stuffy for the next couple of hours. Thank you for your patience.”

“Esero to the Bridge,” He muttered into his comm, backing away until his back his the bed.

“Kirk here, go ahead.”

“Whatever is in the vents is definitely alive, sir. I managed to get a glimpse of it, but all I know is that it’s slimy and has some sort of translucent skin. It’s also about the size of a small dog.”

“Thank you for the information, lieutenant. We’ll keep that in mind. Remember to stay away from the vents.”

Huffing at the distracted dismissal, Set meandered his way back into the bathroom. He was confident they had this handled. It was time he stopped putting off the sonics.

Actually, maybe a bath was a better idea. He hadn’t used his rations for the month yet.

* * *

 

“Ready?”

“Yes, sir,” Came the affirmatives on the bridge, which was a little crowded due to the security team Kirk had called up.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road. Start sweeping the ship, Mr. Chekov.”

“Starting sveep, keptain.”

The viewscreen displayed the schematics of his ship, white dots flickering all over the decks. 

“Eliminating human lifesigns,” Spock said, McCoy hovering over his shoulder to watch his work. The flickering lights lessened significantly, until only seventeen remained, “Focussing on the ventilation system now.”

However, instead of narrowing down to a single light, all of them disappeared.

“I thought you had finished the programming, gentlemen.”

“Now hold on just a second, Jim. We  _ did _ . I’d say it’s not in the vents any longer.”

“You mean to say it’s now loose on my ship? Broaden the search, I guess we’re going to have to filter the results some more.”

The lights appeared once again.

“Filtering Andorian life signs.”

It narrowed down to twelve.

“Filtering Tellarite life signs.”

Eight.

“Filtering Betazoid life signs.”

Now only three remained. Which was odd.

“Is there more than one creature on this ship?”

“Negative, captain. I neglected to input hybrid species into the programming. What we are seeing are the creature’s life signs, along with my own and Lieutenant Esero’s.”

“My god it’s in our quarters!” McCoy exclaimed once he realised which part of the ship he was looking at.

“Security, head down there with Doctor McCoy. I’m coming with,” Jim hastily stood from his chair, rushing his way to the turbolift, “Spock, you have the chair. Close all vents leading from the CMO’s quarters, we don’t want this thing escaping. Try to get a hold of the lieutenant as well. He needs to be warned.”

* * *

 

“I need to do this more often,” Set muttered to himself, sinking lower into the warm water and releasing a satisfied sigh. He could feel his muscles, tense from stress and day-to-day demands, slowly unwind. The small headache that had manifested behind his eyes also began to fade.

Of course, it was ruined when he felt that familiar presence brush against his mind, which was immediately followed by a quiet gurgle. It sounded so much closer than it normally was, and he shot up in surprise, eyes wide as water splashed over the rim.

There, peering over the edge of the bath, was the creature that had been lurking in the vents. Set wanted to laugh because  _ how couldn’t he have realised _ ?

“So  _ you’re  _ the one that’s been making everyone lose their minds?” He sat up straight, reaching forward to pull the little creature into his arms. It gazed up at him with large black eyes, tentacles wriggling in pleasure when he slowly lowered it into the water, “How’d you get on the ship, huh? No matter, crawling in the vents must’ve been fun. But it’s dusty and dry in there; that’s not healthy for you.”

The baby alien cooed at him in response, refusing to let go and cuddling as close to his freckled chest as it could.

“We’ve gotta get you back home, I bet your parents are worried about you,” Set said with a smile, eyes crinkling at the corners when he got splashed in response.

Honestly, the slime should’ve been a dead giveaway. The thing that had been driving the crew nuts over the last two days was just a baby Atanian, the local squid-like species who resided in the tropical waters of Paldophus. Although, they were capable of treading on land for several days at a time. The little thing must have snuck on sometime before they left.

Humming a random tune, Set stood out of the tub, water running down his legs as he attempted to towel himself off while holding a clingy baby, “Are you hungry? I doubt there was anything edible in those vents.”

Thankfully he had managed to wrap a towel around his waist when the security team burst in, scaring both the little glowing cephalopod and himself to the point of screaming - or in the baby’s case, a high-pitched gurgle.

“Set!” McCoy shoved his way through the group with Kirk on his heels, “Are you…?” He froze and trailed off when he realised Set wasn’t hurt or afraid, but in fact gently cradling a creature in nothing but a towel, “Is that…?”

“It would seem we had a little stowaway. Ain’t it cute?” Set gave Leonard a smile, one so genuine and sweet that he felt his heart flutter. Gazing down at the little thing in his arms, Set proceeded to sway in place, “I was just about to get some food for it.”

“Well,” Kirk cleared his throat, a knowing smile on his face, “I’ll just leave it up to you. Seems like we’ve got a ship to turn around. Let’s leave them be gentlemen,” With that, he exited with little fanfare, the security team following sheepishly and pointedly looking everywhere but Set’s almost nude form.

Distracted by their exit, Leonard was pleasantly surprised when Set pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, the infant waving its tentacles enough to slap their chests.

“After we check this little one over, I was thinking we could talk.”

And like that, the stress and turmoil fell away from Leonard’s shoulders.

Everything would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Ehhhh I wrote this within a day so it's not _that_ great


End file.
